Half Waif

Nandi Rose Plunkett of the band Pinegrove also records as a solo singer-songwriter under the name Half Waif.  The New Yorker described her music as "globe-twirling prism pop in search of a home."

On her song Ordinary Talk, she sings about the heaviness of ordinary moments, the tears and chores and self-doubt and small talk that comprise being a person. 

"Recognizing your own ordinariness can be depressing, or it can be a relief. In Ordinary Talk, I wanted to honor and celebrate my ordinariness as an incredible tool for making me feel less alone. The song is a reassurance that feeling bad - or 'ill' - isn't something that needs to be corrected. There's a depth of experience that comes from feeling emotions at their extremes. And it is, in fact, this vivid, varied messiness that makes us human and ordinary."

The video, a collaboration with director Kenna Hynes, tracks the progression from isolation to communion as it moves from a troupe of theatrical characters to the neon lights of a house party. 

Margaret Glaspy

It's nearly impossible to keep up with the seemingly endless number of talented, intelligent women  emerging in the singer-songwriters genre these days.  

This is Margaret Glaspy.  She has been making music since at least 2010, both as a member of a band (The Fundies) and as a solo artist.  She has released several EPs and one full LP, and has her second solo record coming out soon.  She has toured with Neko Case.

Killing What Keeps Us Alive is a good song, and reason enough in and of itself to warrant posting here.  It's the kind of quiet, understated song that so easily gets ignored these days.  

Even though I typically don't like vocoder effects, Glaspy uses it to subtle effect here without letting it get in the way of her vocals.  It's an effect, not a gimmick and she lets the natural sound of her voice carry the song.  But those subtle vocoder effects are nicely reflected in the way the video gradually transitions from black and white to color. 

Sharon Van Etten's New Hat

Sharon Van Etten's new hat is prominently displayed in the brand-new video for her brand-new song (released today!), Beaten Down.  As hats go, it's definitely of the floppy-brim variety, but like everything else she does, such as her stint as Rachel in The OA, Van Etten pulls it off flawlessly.

Seriously, though, it's a gorgeous new song, calmer and more serene than much of her last LP, Remind Me Tomorrow, but with an introspective and somber tone.  Like on Remind Me Tomorrow, she continues to sing over keyboards and tastefully arranged synth, rather than the strummed guitars of her folk-rock origins.

Van Etten's current tour will bring her to Atlanta's Variety Playhouse on April 28.